The Holidays Are a Scream for StubHub's Talking Tree Adding to the chaos of the seasonBy David Gianatasio

December 3, 2012, 9:54 AM EST

If a tree falls in the forest, and it's StubHub's talking ticket tree, I hope I'm not there to hear it, because the unholy wailing sound it makes will shatter your nerves but good! I've had a love/hate relationship with Duncan/Channon's animatronic oak since it debuted last spring. But the holiday-themed "Screaming Tree" spot is just lame noise. When doofus sidekick Ben brings home a sack containing a Christmas tree, the decibels soar as the Ticket Oak mourns its piney cousin. Ben joins in, screeching that the new arrival was already dead when he bought it. There was a certain goofy/menacing edge to the StubHub tree in its previous appearances, but here there's no tension, brand message or even a fully developed concept. Besides, the bar for scream-driven marketing was set by Walmart's infamous clown spot, and "Screaming Tree," though 25 feet tall, doesn't begin to scale those heights of sublimely annoying lunacy. Overall, this is a sour note in the nonstop din of seasonal campaigns. I wish Ben had a chainsaw in his sack. Turn that tree into yule logs! Credits after the jump.

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If a tree falls in the forest, and it's StubHub's talking ticket tree, I hope I'm not there to hear it, because the unholy wailing sound it makes will shatter your nerves but good! I've had a love/hate relationship with Duncan/Channon's animatronic oak since it debuted last spring. But the holiday-themed "Screaming Tree" spot is just lame noise. When doofus sidekick Ben brings home a sack containing a Christmas tree, the decibels soar as the Ticket Oak mourns its piney cousin. Ben joins in, screeching that the new arrival was already dead when he bought it. There was a certain goofy/menacing edge to the StubHub tree in its previous appearances, but here there's no tension, brand message or even a fully developed concept. Besides, the bar for scream-driven marketing was set by Walmart's infamous clown spot, and "Screaming Tree," though 25 feet tall, doesn't begin to scale those heights of sublimely annoying lunacy. Overall, this is a sour note in the nonstop din of seasonal campaigns. I wish Ben had a chainsaw in his sack. Turn that tree into yule logs! Credits after the jump.